Acting chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), has said that more than 80 percent of looted funds by Nigerians are hanging in foreign countries.
“More than 80 per cent of the loot outside the country is still hanging. Ask them why it is so difficult to repatriate these funds when it has been established that this money came from Nigeria and you know that this person does not own this money.
“There is no justification. It is not a small amount of money. We have over $300 million hanging in the Jersey Island, a UK foreign territory.”
Ibrahim Magu, who spoke to some news men today, Wednesday in Abuja, said that the law of other countries are becoming stumbling block to the retrieval of millions of funds being held by Nigerian looters in those countries.
He said bluntly that foreign law enforcement agencies are protecting the former Nigerian petroleum minister, Diezani Alison-Madueke from being arrested, stressing that she were to be in Nigeria, she would have been arrested.
“I need less than 72 hours to produce Diezani but how can I get her? She is being protected by other law enforcement agencies outside this country.
“This is our predicament. If she were here, I would have arrested her. The barrier is that other law enforcement agencies are involved in the matter. You know she is in the UK and we are making preparations to get her.
“We have already gone to court and this was part of the process of extradition; that is the court should declare that a warrant of arrest be issued against her and that we produce her within 72 hours.”
